Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Circe by Madeline Miller

347 reviews

dniespal's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

A great story of a strong woman but polish translation makes it hard to read. First half of the book is quite boring and hard to get through which I think is due to the translation.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

isabellamonco's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

dropkickmechanics's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

meobrien91's review against another edition

It was dull and trying to make an effort to go back to it felt like a chore

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

auteaandtales's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, and Abandonment

merle_bookdragon's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“I would say, some people are like constellations that only touch the earth for a season.” 

What can I say, I simply loved reading this book. 
Between Madeline Miller's books I read Song of Achilles first, which I absolutely adored, and so I was anticipating what I would think of Circe. I had also heard people say before that they did not enjoy it as much.

I think I simply enjoyed the two books in very different ways. SoA is a heartbreaking love story peppered with the horrible reality of war and it broke me into many different pieces. Circe is a story of being pushed down 100 times but getting up again 101 times. I loved seeing her character develop, how she learned and improved and persevered. I especially admired that perseverance. I also really appreciated that her character development made her both harsher in softer in different ways. She had to learn so many lessons and while she obviously made her fair share of bad decisions, I think she learned the lessons well and bore the consequences when needed. 

I love that she didn't apologize for her power once she grew into them and that she didn't hesitate using them, both for good and for (perceived) bad. I must admit that I am not very familiar with the myth of Circe outside of this book, so I cannot say how close these events are to what the myth says but either way I think Miller gave Circe the voice that she deserves.

Also, witchcraft!! Yeah, that's all I'm gonna say.

“Humbling women seems to me a chief pastime of poets. As if there can be no story unless we crawl and weep.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Rape

yrlaevelyn's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and War

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Incest, Infidelity, and Slavery

michellestanek's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny and Rape

elainarkk's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Very few books make me cry, but Circe really, really did. Not because it is overwhelmingly sad, but because it is overwhelmingly beautiful. Miller does a wonderful job of weaving her stories, just like her characters weave their own within the book. The prose, pacing, and characterization all worked together in stitching a top tier book. Circe is such a strong, lovable, deeply feeling feminine character that I ache to see my time with her done. I enjoyed the subtle feminism present in the story, especially because the classical Greek myths are strife with patriarchal pleasures and standards. This book didn't take me super long to read, but by the end, I felt like I had truly witnessed the millennia Circe had already lived--and as much as I am left yearning for more, Miller's ending to Circe was perfect. It made me feel utterly breathless and content and joyous and proud and happy and sad, all at the same time. I cannot find many more words to describe the praises for this book. It truly is the new classic. A++ Madeline Miller.

oh jeez, that ending hit me so hard. I should've picked up on it probably, but I didn't and I was struck by such the bittersweet contentment that Circe could finally live a mortal life with her found mortal family, but also by the deep, recurring message of the fleetingness--and thus power--of mortal life. such a great, great book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual assault

Minor: Violence and War

glen3's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Medical content, and Medical trauma